duplex

[ doo-pleks, dyoo- ]

noun

1. duplex apartment.
2. duplex house.
3. paper or cardboard having different colors, finishes, or stocks on opposite sides.
4. Printing.
   1. a method of reproducing an illustration using two halftone plates, one black and the other in a color.
   2. a printing press equipped to print both sides of a sheet in one pass.
5. Genetics. a double-stranded region of DNA.

adjective

1. having two parts; double; twofold.
2. (of a machine) having two identical working units, operating together or independently, in a single framework or assembly.
3. pertaining to or noting a telecommunications system, as most telephone systems, permitting the simultaneous transmission of two messages in opposite directions over one channel.

verb (used with object)

1. to make duplex; make or change into a duplex:

   Many owners are duplexing their old houses for extra income.

duplex

/ ˈdjuːplɛks /

noun

1. a duplex apartment or house
2. a double-stranded region in a nucleic acid molecule

adjective

1. having two parts
2. machinery having pairs of components of independent but identical function
3. permitting the transmission of simultaneous signals in both directions in a radio, telecommunications, or computer channel

Derived Forms

• duˈplexity, noun

Other Words From

• du·plexi·ty noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of duplex¹

1810–20; < Latin: twofold, double, equivalent to du ( o ) two + -plex -plex

Word History and Origins

Origin of duplex¹

C19: from Latin: twofold, from duo two + -plex -fold

Example Sentences

Harris has described her formative years living in a Berkeley duplex as an ideal place for a child of immigrants and an influential introduction to Black leadership.

From Los Angeles Times

And then, out of the blue, I get a call from my landlord: She’s selling the duplex, and we may have to move.

From Los Angeles Times

The church, which dates to the 1960s, is nestled between homes and duplexes.

From Los Angeles Times

Despite the duplex, Ferrari, Bentleys and various expensive baubles he has showered upon her, she seems too delusional and naive to be called a gold digger.

From Los Angeles Times

By entering this space, she left behind “the white noise” of her duplex, the neighbors with their televisions on, the families next door coming and going, her own anxious thoughts about work and life.

From Los Angeles Times